A chief of staff to former New York City Mayor Eric Adams and several other people have been arrested as part of an investigation into an alleged bribery scheme involving a city contract, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Frank Carone, along with his brother Anthony Carone, as well as a Queens hotel owner and an employee of the hotel owner, were arrested Wednesday morning, said one of the people, a law enforcement official.
Both people were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Frank Carone played a key role in Adams’ campaign for mayor in 2021 and served as Adams’ chief of staff in 2022. In 2023, he formed a political consulting firm. He also was a one-time lawyer for the Brooklyn Democratic Party.
Frank Carone’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, called the indictment “weak” and “based on purely circumstantial evidence that’s not worth the paper upon which it is printed.”
“Today’s indictment is a sad day for our criminal justice system,” Aidala said in a statement. “It epitomizes the government first finding a target and then spending three years and enormous taxpayer resources to find a crime.”
In a separate statement, Todd Shapiro, a spokesperson for Adams, said Frank Carone “dedicated decades of his life to public service, the legal profession, and helping countless individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations throughout New York.”
“This is an ongoing legal matter and my prayers are with his family,” Shapiro’s statement said.
Also Wednesday, federal agents searched the homes of current and former New York Police Department leaders as part of a bribery investigation that grew out of an inquiry into Jeffrey Maddrey, the chief of department under Adams, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the searches.
As part of that inquiry, the FBI and the NYPD executed warrants on the home of NYPD Chief of Manhattan South James McCarthy and former Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard, according to the person, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.
Maddrey’s home was also searched by federal agents, the person said.
The searches were not related to the arrest of Frank Carone, one of the people familiar with the matter said. There is no public indication of any arrests as part of those searches.
Once the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the department, Maddrey resigned in late 2024 over allegations that he demanded sex from a subordinate in exchange for opportunities to earn extra pay.
An inquiry to his attorney was not immediately returned. Attorney information for Sheppard and McCarthy was not immediately available.
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Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut, and Durkin Richer reported from Washington.